Internal-combustion engine



J1me 1949- J. BURROUGH 2,473,936

INTERNKL-COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Oct. '18, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. JOE BURROUGH June 21, 1949. J. BURROUGH INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 18, 1947 m m NH m e m% T On R U B M. QNNM 8 R v mm 3 3 Qm Patented June 21, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE My present invention relates to the internal combustion engine art and more particularly to a new and improved form of engine employing opposed rotary and reciprocating pistons operating in a common cylinder.

An object 01 the invention is to provide a new and novel engine of the internal combustion type in which two opposed pistons are combined in a novel manner in a single cylinder to produce rotary motive power.

obtained with a minimum of head room, space and weight.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement of combustion chamber particularly adapted for eflicient cooperation with that style of Dieseltype internal combustion engine wherein a pair of aligned pistons are arranged for simultaneous, opposed travel in a common cylinder bore.

A further object of the invention is to provide an internal combustion engine employing opposed pistons operating to exert torque upon a common drive shaft in which the relative positions of said pistons with respect to intake and exhaust ports in the cylinder wall may be varied by an angular displacement oi. the pistons.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement of piston, cylinder and combustion chamber elements in a Diesel-type engine cooperable to attain high admixing emciency of air with a liquid fuel charge, productive of a high compression factor, arranged to proportion and efiiciently transmit combustion pressures deriving from a slow-burning fuel to the working elements of an engine assembly, and particularly susceptible of eficient practical embodiment to give efiect to the requirements and principles of 2-stroke cycle engine assemblies.

Another object of the invention is to provide a more eilicient and economical mechanical principle to generate power under light friction condition and thus conserve power losses attendant in the now more complicated design of engines; the high efliciency resulting by providing a simplified arrangement of all working parts to reduce frontal area, bulk, weight and cost of manufacture.

Another object is to provide an improved construction dispensing with expensive crank-shafts, cam-shafts, connecting rods, poppet valves, and a great multiplicity of cylinders, the power forces and the mechanical parts being equally balanced in their action so as to avoid vibration and the necessity for counter-weighting to prevent destructive unbalanced forces.

Other objects and advantages the invention will be in part evident to those skilled in the art and in part pointed out'in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein there is shown by way of illustration and not of limitation a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings;

Figure l is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinally through the center of an engine constructed in accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken centrally through the engine of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an end view of my improved engine with parts broken away and in section to reveal details of construction,

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line IVIV of Figure 1 looking in direction of arrows,

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of Figure 1 looking in direction of arrows,

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line VIVI of Figure 1 looking in direction of arrows, and

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII as applied to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have, in the accompanying drawings, illustrated an engine having a single cylinder with two opposed pistons operating Jointly to drive a common power delivery shaft but it will be understood that where desired a number 01' these cylinders with their opposed pistons may be arranged around the common power delivery shaft. In this manner an engine 01' any desired horsepower may be provided without materially increasing the frontal area of the engine per unit of horsepower which is a desirable consideration in the design of airplane engines. In this particular embodiment the engine is shown as comprising an outer shell or frame I0 having a cylindrical lining ll arranged therein to provide walls i'or a cylinder within which two opposed pistons l2 and i3 operate. These pistons I2 and 13 are of special design in that they are provided with wave shaped cam tracks l4 and I5 and instead of the customary wrist pin and connecting rod these pistons are respectively splined upon centrally disposed and axially extending shafts l8 and H by flanged and fluted bushings i8 so that they may reciprocate freely with respect thereto. Associated with the cam track ll of the piston I2 there are opposed sets of cam engaging rollers l9 and in a like manner associated with the cylinder l3 there is a similar set of opposed cam engaging rollers 20.

With this association between the sets of cam engaging rollers l9 and 20 and the wave shaped cam tracks II and [5 upon the pistons l2 and II it will be seen that as the pistons move axially within the cylinder provided by the cylindrical lining ll they will also turn about their axis 3- a quarter of a revolution during each backward and forward stroke thereof and thus produce a complete revolution of the axially extending shafts i8 and I1 upon each two complete operating strokes thereof. In this way the shafts and skirt ends. As a means for cooling the cylinder walls the frame It is cored out so as to provide an annular space 28 around the cylindrical lining ll through which a cooling fluid may be circulated when the engine is in operation. At the ends of the cylinders the engine frame or housing I is closed by a cylinder head of novel construction within which a disc-like valve member operates to control the admission of air, or fuel under some conditions, to produce an explosive mixture for the engine. In the present showing the engine is designed to operate on the Diesel principle and the valves at the ends of the engine are therefore used to control the admission ofv air into the cylinders at the outer ends of the pistons I2 and I3. While this valve arrangement may take many forms, I have here shown a simplified arrangement which involves disc-like valve elements 21 'having two oppositely disposed ports 28 and which aredisposed within a clearance space formed between annular plates 28 and flanged bearing supports 30 within which the extending ends of the shafts I8 and I! are journaled. As indicated in Figure 2 of the drawings, the annular plates 29 and the bearing supports 30 have aligned ports 3i and 32 through which air may enter the engine cylinders when the ports 28 of the disc-like valve elements 21 are in register therewith. The disc-like valve elements 21 are keyed to the shafts l6 and II by engagement with the splines thereupon and extending outwardly they have cylindrical portions 33 which are Journaled within suitable bearing sleeves 34 carried by each of the cylinder head bearing supports 30. In addition to forming supports for the shafts l3 and [1 the bearing supports 30, as is more clearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, also have cylindrical extensions 35 within which bearings 36 are provided as a support for the ends of the power delivery shaft 2|. In this figure of the drawings it will also be noted that the annular plates 29 and the flanged bearing supports 30 at the ends of the frame or housing ii] are also provided respectively with additional ports 3'! and 38 with which the oppositely disposed ports 28 of the disc-like valve elements 21 cooperate as they are brought into register therewith. The ports 33 in the bearing supports 30 communicate with chambers 39 formed in cover plates 40 which lead to a conduit 4| that extends axially therebetween along the entire length of the engine. This conduit 4! connected intermediate its ends with a manifold 42 which is formed integrally around the inside of the frame or housing l0 and at this point the cylindrical lining ll of the cylinder is provided, as will hereinafter appear, with radially spaced ports, through which compressed air may flow from the manifold 42 into the combustion chamber of the engine when the piston 12 has reached the end of its power stroke. In a like manner, and as is more clearly seen with reference to Figure 6, the frame orhousing I 0 is is advanced about flve degrees in point of travel 4 also provided with an additional and similar manifold 43 which is associated with ports 44 formed in the cylindrical lining II at this point.

As indicated in this latter flgureof the drawings. the manifold 43 is provided with an exhaust outlet flue 45 through which the burnt gases can escape from the engine. While the manifolds 42 and 43 are shown in the drawings as arranged at equal distances from each end of the cylinder of the engine within which the pistons i2 and i3 operate, it should be explained that the piston is in advance of the piston l2 or at an axial distance approximately equal to the width of the ports 44 in the cylindrical lining which are associated with the exhaust manifold 43. In this manner it will beseen that as the two pistons l2 and I3 move away from each other the ports 44 associated with the exhaust manifold 43 will be uncovered prior to an opening of the ports in the cylindrical lining II which are associated with the air intake manifold 42. This will cause the exhaust ports 44 to open first and permit the escape of burnt gases before the air intake ports associated with the manifold 42 are opened. This advance of the piston I3 with respect to the piston [2 may be providedby the simple expedient of setting the gears 23, one or more teeth ahead of the setting provided by the gears 22 and the other end of the engine. It will be also understood that as the piston l2 continues in the direction of its power stroke the ports of the air intake manifold 42 will next become uncovered, but during this latter interval the piston l8 will have reversedin its direction of travel and will have practically closed the ports 44 associated with the exhaust manifold 43 at about the instant the ports associated with the air intake manifold 42 have begun to be uncovered by the final outward movement of the piston l2. This opening and closing of the intake" and exhaust ports associated with the manifolds 42 and 43 may occur substantially simultaneously but it will be desirable to have the air intake ports associated with the manifold 42 open slightly before the ports 44 of the exhaust manifold 43 are fully closed in order to scavenge the combustion chamber of burnt gasses. Disposed centrally between the manifolds 42 and 43, as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, the frame or housing 10 is provided with' a fuel inlet port into which a Diesel fuel injecting nozzle 46 is mounted. This injection nozzle 46 may be of any conventional form. It'is here shown as associated with a source of supply 41 and a fuel'injection pump 48 which will be timed to operate in synchrdnism with the movements of the pistons I2 and [3. As is also here indicated the fuel injection nozzle 45 is located centrally"-between the ends of the cylinder within which the pistons l2 and; i3 operate. The pistons 12 and I3 are also here be noted that in Figure 1 of the drawings the wave shaped cam track I5 i's'also illustrated "as slightly on center.

From the above it will be seenthatthe wave-' like cam tracks l4 and I5 follow a'substantially sine wave course about the pistons l2 and I3 which will cause them to make one complete operating and return stroke during each half turn thereof or, in other words, these pistons l2 and i3 will complete two operatim strokes for each provided with an axially extending vent 49 which continues transversely as at 50 to permit the free passage of air to and from the cavity within the pistons at the inner ends of these axially extending shafts.

In order to describe the operation of the engine here illustrated it will be assumed that \an ignition of fuel has just taken place within the chamber between the opposed pistons l2 and I3 at the point of high compression and that the pistons are just starting their outward movements with respect to each other, as indicated by arrows on Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings. As these pistons l2 and I3 thus move the wave shaped cam tracks thereupon will, because of their engagement with the fixed sets of opposed cam engaging rollers l9 and 20, cause the respective pistons to turn about their axis as is also here indicated by arrows. In thus turning, the pistons l2 and i3 will impart this movement to the axially extending shafts l6 and I! and through the sets of gears 22 and 23 cause the power delivery shaft 2| to make a quarter turn during the outward stroke of the pistons. Then as the pistons 12 and I3 approach the ends of their outward travel, as will be controlled by the configurations of the cam ways carried thereby, it will be seen that because of the slight lead provided in the piston l3 that the ports 44 which are associated with the exhaust manifold 43 will be fully opened before the ports associated with the air inlet manifold 42 have been cleared by the piston i2. Then as the piston l2 continues in its outward movement the piston l3 will have begun its inward or return stroke and at least partially reclose the ports 44 which lead to the exhaust manifold 43 before the air inlet ports have become fully opened. During this interval the burnt gases will be scavenged from the combustion chamber. Then as the exhaust ports have become fully closed the further outward movement of the piston I 2 will permit the full flow of air under pressure from the chambers at the outer ends of the pistons. This being provided for by the opposite disposition of the ports 28 with respect to the particular arrangement of the ports 3! and 32 that are provided in members 29 and 38 which form the cylinder heads. In other words, with two sets of these ports in each cylinder head it will be seen that they will open and close once upon each half revolution of the pistons l2 and I3. In this operation the ports 28 will be open and operative only for short periods of time when the pistons 12 and I3 are in their innermost positions and while the disc-like valve member 27 is operating to close the ports 31 and 38 which control the flow of air to the air inlet manifold 42. After the pistons l2 and [3 have rotated through this quarter turn, one of the ports 28 of the valve member 21 will come into register with the ports 31 and 38 and thus permit the admission of air under pres-' sure-to the manifold 42 and thus provide a charge of fresh air which will become compressed as the pistons i2 and I3 continue in their reverse axial movements toward each other until an injection of fuel into the compression chamber is ignited to complete a repetition of the above cycle of operations. From this it will be seen that when a series of such fuel explosions are produced within the combustion chamber the.- pistons I 2 and I 3 will be caused to reciprocate and at the same time turn in-such a manner as to produce a substantially continuous unidirectional rotation of the power take on shaft 2|. At this point it may be stated that the lead or advance provided in the operations of the piston l3 with respect to the piston l2 in addition to providing for a proper timing of the opening and closing of the exhaust ports 44 which lead to the exhaust manifold 43 will also serve as a means to prevent any tendency for a dead centering of the pistons which might necessitate reliance upon a fiy wheel to insure a proper operating cycle.

While I have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose the invention so that the same can be readily understood, described and illustrated specific devices and arrangements, I desire to have it understood that this invention is not limited to the specific means disclosed, but may be embodied in other ways that will suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art. It is believed that this invention is new and all such changes as come within the scope of the appended claims are to be considered as part of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a combustion engine of the character described, the combination of an elongated piston accommodating cylinder, a splined rotatable shaft extending axially and centrally into each end of said cylinder, a piston carried by each of said splined shafts and disposed to operate in opposed relation to each other within said cylinder, a fixed cam track engaging means extending inwardly from the wall of said cylinder at points within the limits of travel of each of said pistons,

' a cam track way formed in the outer surfaces of said pistons with which said fixed cam track engaging means cooperates, whereby said pistons will be caused to rotate about their axis and drive said splined shafts as they reciprocate within said cylinder, and means forming a connection between each of said splined shafts and a common power delivery shaft for maintaining said pistons in proper cooperating relation when delivering power.

2. In an internal combustion engine of the character described, the combination of an elongated cylinder having air intake and outlet ports at each of its ends, a piston disposed in each end of said cylinder and operating in opposition to each other to form a combustion chamber between their adjacent ends, a wave-like cam way extending around the outside of each of said pistons, a fixed cam way engaging means carried by said cylinder and adapted to cooperate with the wave-like cam ways of each of said pistons, whereby said pistons will be caused to turn about their axis as they reciprocate within said cylinder, and a valve member associated with the air intake and outlet ports at the ends of said cylinder adapted to be operated by the turning of said pistons to control the intake and discharge of air to and from the outer ends of said cylinder as said pistons reciprocate.

3. In an internal combustion engine of the: character described, the combination of an elongated cylinder having air intake and outlet ports at each of its ends, a piston disposed in each end of said cylinder and operating in opposition to each other to form a combustion chamber between their adjacent ends, a wave-like cam way extending around the outside of each of said pistons, a fixed cam way engaging means extending into said cylinder and adapted to cooperate with the wave-like cam ways of each of said pis tons, whereby said pistons will be caused to turn about their axis as they reciprocate within said cylinder, and a rotary valve member associated with each of said pistons adapted to control the admission of air through the inlet and outlet ports at the outer ends of said cylinder as said pistons reciprocate.

4. In an internal combustion engine of the character described, the combination of an elongated piston accommodating cylinder having air intake and outlet ports at each of its ends,a piston in each end of said cylinder disposed to operate in opposition to each other and form a combustion chamber between their adjacent ends, an intake manifold having ports communicating with the interior of said cylinder and adapted to be uncovered by one of said pistons when in its outermost position, an exhaust manifold also having ports communicating with the interior of said cylinder and adapted to be uncovered by the other of said pistons when in its outermost position, a wave-like cam way extending around the outside of each of said pistons, fixed cam way engaging means carried by said cylinder and adapted to engage the wave-like cam ways of each of said pistons, whereby said pistons will be caused to turn about their axis as they reciprocate within said cylinder, a centrally disposed shaft journaled in each end of said cylinder upon which said pistons are slidably connected, and valve member carried by each of said shafts adapted to control the admission of air to the outer ends of said cylinder and its discharge to said air intake manifold as said pistons reciprocate.

5. In an internal combustion engine of the character described, the combination of an elongated opposed piston accommodating cylinder having air intake outlet ports at each of its ends,

a piston disposed in each end of said cylinder to provide a combustion chamber between their adjacent ends, an intake manifold having ports communicating with the interior of said cylinder and adapted to be uncovered by one of said pistons when in its outermost position, an exhaust manifold also having ports communicating with the interior of said cylinder and adapted to be uncovered by the other of said pistons when in its outermost position, a wave-like cam way extending around the outside of each of said pistons, a fixed cam way engaging means extending through the wall of said cylinder and adapted to cooperate with the wave-like cam ways of each of said pistons, whereby said pistons will be caused to turn about their axis as they reciprocate within said cylinder, a splined shaft journaled centrally and extending axially into each of the ends of said cylinder upon which the adjacent one'of said pistons is slidably mounted, a power delivery shaft connected to the splined shafts journaled in the ends of said cylinder adapted to be driven in a unidirectional manner as said pistons reciprocate, and means by which one of said splined shafts may be adjusted in point of revolution with respect to the other of said splined shafts to advance one of said wavelike cam ways and thus establish a desired timin in the uncovering of the ports through the cylinder wall which communicate with said intake and exhaust manifolds as said pistons reciprocate.

6. In an internal combustion engine of the character described; the combination of an elongated cylinder having air intake and outlet ports at each of its ends, a piston disposed in each end of said cylinder and operating in opposition to each other to form a combustion chamber between their adjacent ends, a wave-like cam way extending around the outside of each of said pistons, a fixed cam way engaging means extending into the side of said cylinder and adapted to cooperate with the wave-like cam ways of each of said pistons, whereby said pistons will be caused to turn about their axis as they reciprocate within said cylinder, a valve member associated with the air intake and outlet ports at the ends of said cylinder adapted to be operated by the turning of said pistons to control the intake and discharge of air to and from the outer ends of said cylinder as said pistons reciprocate, a manifold extending around one end of said cylinder having ports communicating with the interior of said cylinder and adapted to be uncovered by one of said pistons at the end of its power stroke, and conduit leading from the outer ends of said cylinder through which compressed air will be delivered through said manifold to said combustion chamber when said pistons are substanti lly at the end of their power delivery stroke.

7. In an internal combustion engine of the character described, the combination of an elongated cylinder having air intake and outlet ports at each of its ends, a piston disposed in each end of said cylinder and operating in opposition to each other to form a combustion chamber between their adjacent ends, a wave-like cam way extending around the outside of each of said pistons, a fixed cam way engaging means extending into the side of said cylinder and adapted to cooperate with the wave-like cam ways of each of said pistons, whereby said pistons will be caused to turn about their axis as they reciprocate within said cylinder, a valve member associated with the air intake and outlet ports at the ends of said cylinder adapted to be operated by the turning of said pistons to control the intake and discharge of air to and from the outer ends of said cylinder as said pistons reciprocate, a manifold extending around one end of said cylinder having ports communicating with the interior of said cylinder and adapted to be uncovered by one of said pistons at the end of its power stroke, a conduit leading from the outer ends of said cylinder through which compressed air will be delivered through said manifold to said combustion chamber when said pistons are substantially at the end of their power delivery stroke, and a fuel injection nozzle adapted to inject fuel into said combustion chamber as said pistons approach a point of maximum compression.

JOE BURROUGH.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in h file of this patent: t 8

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

